News - American Energy Alliance

In the Pipeline: 5/14/13

May 14, 2013 by AEA Leave a Comment

See if you can figure out what the following have in common: the IRS targeting political enemies; the Benghazi cover up; tapping the AP’s phones; EPA’s unwillingness to respond to the simplest of requests. That’s right – they are all symptomatic of a closed, paranoid, and corrupt regime. PoliticoPro (5/13/13) reports: “The Environmental Defense Action Fund is starting a TV ad campaign tomorrow or Wednesday to spur Senate approval of Gina McCarthy’s bid to head EPA and chastise Republicans for stalling a committee vote. The 30-second ad quotes business leaders praising McCarthy and notes that Mitt Romney had named her to an environmental post when he was Massachusetts governor. “So why are Republicans in Congress trying to block this highly qualified woman?” the ad asks. ‘Stop playing politics. Confirm Gina.’”

Some people on the right are asking why the government is out to get them, while others on the left are wondering why the government isn’t doing enough to stop them. All we have to say at this time: “Who is John Galt?”. Huffington Post (5/13/13) reports: “But who is Thomas Pyle and what is the American Energy Alliance?”

The Governor knows what the right thing to do is. We remain optimistic, mostly because optimism is free. Real Vail (5/11/13) reports: “Democrats on Thursday told the Denver Post they don’t expect Gov. John Hickenlooper to veto any of the bills currently awaiting his signature, including SB 252. But many Republicans – and a majority of the state’s rural electric associations (REAs) want him to kill the bill, co-sponsored by Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass, and Senate President John Morse, D-Colorado Springs… On Thursday, Hickenlooper spokesman Eric Brown told Real Vail that the governor is “still reviewing the legislation” and has not made a decision on whether to sign it into law for veto it. However, he added that the governor must act by June 7.”

As writers and producers begin working on Ironman 4, early reports indicate that Senator James Inhofe will get the nod to replace Robert Downey Jr. Investor’s Business Daily (5/10/13) reports: “To accomplish this, I am introducing the Iran Sanctions Implementation Act of 2013. The bill requires the president to designate portions of the federal land estate as “Iranian Oil Replacement Zones” so that production on federal lands will increase by 1.25 million barrels of oil per day, enough oil to fully offset current Iranian exports… Significant oil reserves, to the magnitude of tens of billions of barrels, are locked away on federal lands in the Mountain West, Alaska and offshore. The Institute for Energy Research estimates that if we aggressively pursue these resources, $14.4 trillion in economic activity will be generated, 2.5 million jobs will be created and the federal deficit will be reduced by $2.7 trillion.”

There is no longer rule of law in this country. There is only the imposition of rules that apply unevenly to different entities and individuals. LA Times (5/10/13) reports: “Federal wildlife officials took the unprecedented step Friday of telling private companies that they will not be prosecuted for inadvertently harassing or even killing endangered California condors… In a decision swiftly condemned by conservationists and wildlife advocates, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said operators of Terra-Gen Power’s wind farm in the Tehachapi Mountains will not be prosecuted if their turbines accidentally kill a condor during the expected 30-year life span of the project.”

At least there’s still hope for the California condor. Condor Wind Energy specializes in two bladed technology, we assume to cut down on the killing of this endangered species by 33%.

Filed Under: In the Pipeline Tagged With: California Condor, Environmental Defense Action Fund, EPA, Gina McCarthy, Gov. John Hickenlooper, Iran Sanctions Implementation Act, SB 252, Terra-Gen Power, wind turbines

In the Pipeline: 5/13/13

May 13, 2013 by AEA Leave a Comment

If you support construction of Keystone XL, you are racist (on top of all the other names you’ve already been called). Politico (5/10/13) reports: “As business leaders, philanthropists and supporters of your 2008 and 2012 campaigns, we write to urge you to reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline and to do everything in your power to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels and to clean energy sources,” reads the missive that 150 donors sent to Obama on Thursday… They note Obama’s admiration for Lincoln, writing that “he made one of the most important decisions of his presidency and for our nation when he decided that he would fight for the 13th Amendment to end slavery even if it took every ounce of his political capital.”

Start your week off with a dose of sanity. Bangor Daily News (5/9/13) reports: “Gov. Paul LePage wants to strip from state law goals for increasing the state’s wind energy capacity over the next two decades.”

Hey! We’re famous (again). Maybe the House will join in the fun. Rep Stockman (5/10/13) reports: “‘For almost two years, Gina McCarthy has failed to live up to promises to provide Congress with the basic data that underlies this administration’s billion dollar Clean Air Act regulations. The public has been denied the opportunity to review the science that underpins alleged benefits from these regulations. Utilizing secret science is no way to develop credible regulations. I commend my Senate colleagues for drawing this critical line in the sand.’… A recent poll by the Institute for Energy Research indicates that the American people agree with making data public and stand for transparent science; 90 percent of people agree that studies and data used to make federal government decisions should be made public and 91 percent think studies and data funded by taxpayers should be made public.”

“Bureaucratic inefficiency”. That’s what they are going to lead with? Even Senator Hatch knows that dog can’t possibly hunt. NYTimes (5/11/13) reports: “But Ms. Lerner said the examinations of the Tea Party groups were not a response to such pressure. She portrayed it more as a bureaucratic mix-up. Between 2010 and 2012, applications for 501(c)(4) tax exemptions nearly doubled, to more than 2,400. As the agency has done in the past, it centralized the processing of the surge at its Cincinnati office, where about 300 were flagged for further examination.”

The fact that the only person representing the “bad guys” in this piece is our friend Tim tells you all you need to know. We like Coral, but this piece is pure advocacy. National Journal should rethink their approach on this beat. National Journal (5/9/13) reports: “Soon after his experience in South Carolina, Emanuel changed his lifelong Republican Party registration to independent. “The idea that you could look a huge amount of evidence straight in the face and, for purely ideological reasons, deny it, is anathema to me,” he says… Emanuel predicts that many more voters like him, people who think of themselves as conservative or independent but are turned off by what they see as a willful denial of science and facts, will also abandon the GOP, unless the party comes to an honest reckoning about global warming.”

California was destroyed by its culture of fairy tales long ago, but at certain point you’d have to believe that people would not be enthralled by the next remake of Robin Hood when they’re out of work and can’t afford dinner and a movie. Los Angeles Times (5/5/13) reports: “These Zero Emission Vehicle credits could put as much as $250 million in Tesla’s coffers this year, according to one Wall Street analyst, and they are a key reason the 10-year-old automaker has survived this long. Tesla gets to sell the credits to other automakers that need them to satisfy tough California regulations.”

Prince Harry is going to get a beating for this, but we love those unscripted moments of honesty. Retraction in 5…4…3… The Telegraph (5/11/13) reports: “Susan Reilly, chief executive officer of Renewable Energy Systems Americas, said after speaking to the prince that she had to reassure Harry about the benefits of wind turbines – just as she’d done with his father… She said: ‘Prince Harry said he was worried about their visual impact, I told him that I had met his father some years ago and when we discussed wind farms he shared his concerns.’”

Filed Under: In the Pipeline Tagged With: carbon dioxide emissions, Clean Air Act, Gina McCarthy, global warming, Keystone XL pipeline, Paul LePage, President Obama, Prince Harry, Tesla, wind energy, wind turbines

In the Pipeline: 5/8/13

May 8, 2013 by AEA Leave a Comment

Their machine is impressive and sinister. The goal is to “Organize for Automation”, remove your individual identity, and replace it with a lump of collectivity.

Drinking champagne every night sounds appealing too, but there’s a reason most people don’t do it. Civitas Institute (5/8/13) reports: “North Carolinians oppose the state law requiring utility companies to purchase a percentage of their energy from so-called renewable energy sources by more than 3-to-1, according to a new Civitas Institute poll. Additionally, ratepayers strongly oppose the use of such energy sources as wind or solar if it means paying higher utility bills… ‘North Carolinians may feel that using renewable energy sounds appealing — but they don’t want to be forced to pay higher prices for it,’ said Civitas President Francis X. De Luca.”

Bob Inglis has been doing a lot of soul searching, and apparently crushing the lives of poor people is the answer to his salvation. Politico (5/6/13) reports: “’Losing an election is not the worst thing that can happen to you. Losing your soul is considerably worse.’… The controversial tax proposal has long won the backing of many economists, who say it is the simplest and purest means of reducing emissions blamed for contributing to climate change. And while it has also won tentative backing from oil giants like Shell and ExxonMobil, it’s been pilloried by many oil-state politicians and conservatives, who say it would raise energy costs and hurt fossil fuel industries.”

I can’t wait to drive a hovercraft. Hopefully the government doesn’t put a noose around the industry with their special way of doing things. WSJ (5/6/13) reports: “Terrafugia Inc., the Woburn, Mass., company developing the Transition flying car, said it plans to begin delivering the vehicle to customers in 2015 or 2016. In the meantime it is working on a successor model called the TF-X, which will take off and land vertically, fly at more than 200 mph and seat four people… The TF-X is also a plug-in hybrid. It uses electric motors and tilting rotor blades take off and a gasoline engine and ducted fan to propel it in forward flight.”

Apparently wind hit a “turning point” in 1981, nine years before the wind PTC was enacted. Is the joke on them or on us? MasterResource (5/6/13) reports: “It is entertaining and even humorous to bring up the “oil short world” and wind power’s “turning point” in today’s energy debate. Oil is more abundant than ever and growing in reserves and resources as technology improves. Wind power remains intermittent and government-dependent some decades after Flavin declared its tipping point reached.”

Warning! Graphic picture of government-sponsored killing!

Filed Under: In the Pipeline Tagged With: Bob Inglis, climate change, ExxonMobil, oil, Organizing for Action, Shell, utility bills, wind energy, wind ptc, wind turbines

In the Pipeline: 5/7/13

May 7, 2013 by AEA Leave a Comment

The only thing I see when I look at this dude’s “aura” is a black hole where your taxpayer dollars go to die. Bloomberg (5/6/13) reports: “Whatever you think of Gore, one thing is indisputable: leveraging his aura as a technology seer and his political and climate work connections, Gore has remade himself into a wealthy businessman, amassing a fortune that may exceed $200 million.”

Marsha Blackburn deserves an apology from Al Gore. CSPAN (4/24/09) reports: “Rep. Marsha Blackburn challenged Former Vice President Al Gore’s contribution to environmental charities during an exchange at a subcommittee hearing on global climate change legislation.”

You can do a lot of these comparisons. North and South Korea, for instance, have some different rules that impact economic growth. Manhattan Institute (May 2013) reports: “If New York lifts its moratorium, companies will be drilling the same type of wells to exploit the same subterranean source of gas—the Marcellus Shale. Pennsylvania’s experience is a good guide to what would happen in New York… In this paper, we analyze the effect of hydrofracturing—at modest, moderate, and high levels—on jobs and income growth in Pennsylvania counties. We then use these data to project the benefits that New York counties stand to gain if the state again permits hydrofracturing.”

Does “minimally viable” involve making a profit? Or were those things just a 20th century fad? The Hill (5/6/13) reports: “Kiernan said AWEA suggested ramping down the production tax credit over the course of six years as part of an analysis of what the industry needed to be “minimally viable.” He stressed the House Ways and Means Committee requested the exercise, and that it was performed in the context of broad tax code changes.”

These people have no shame. But I guess it’s cool if they want to put their credibility on trial and provide us with some solid entertainment (all at the expense of taxpayers, of course). WSJ (5/6/13) reports: “Now, SolarCity is pushing back with a lawsuit that alleges the opposite: some of the taxpayer-funded grants it received weren’t as big as originally promised… The suit, filed quietly in February in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, comes as SolarCity and other industry players are defending solar-friendly government policies, and it could undermine the industry’s message that solar power will soon be viable without government help.”

Filed Under: In the Pipeline Tagged With: Al Gore, AWEA, Marcellus Shale, Marsha Blackburn, natural gas, New York, Pennsylvania, SolarCity

In the Pipeline: 5/6/13

May 6, 2013 by AEA Leave a Comment

Relax, Michelle. Your husband has already dug plenty of other holes for the country.

The Marshall crew is as cool as the other side of the pillow. George C. Marshall Institute (5/3/13) reports: “The year 2013 will see a major political debate over proposals for a carbon tax—a tax on emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), particularly carbon dioxide (CO2). The justifications for the proposals include: (1) a desire to reduce emissions to prevent a rise in global temperatures; and (2) the hope that a carbon tax could substitute for other taxes and improve economic efficiency, while raising enormous sums for the government. The carbon tax finds theoretical justification in economic theory, but it is a deeply flawed idea. Five sets of consideration militate against it—the five circles of Carbon Tax Hell:” [Emphasis added]

It’s bad enough to be someone who hates progress and people and prosperity, but it is much worse to be a coward: “She declined to be interviewed for this story.” National Journal (5/5/13) reports: “One notably high-profile former Obama adviser whose position differs from the several people interviewed both on and off the record for this article is Carol Browner. Browner was Obama’s top energy and climate adviser until she left in January 2011.’Until we do have a climate policy, the idea that we should be supportive of a pipeline that will increase greenhouse-gas emissions is deeply troubling,’ Browner said at an energy forum in November 2011, according to a Reuters article.”

Another one bites the dust… Renewable Energy World (5/2/13) reports: “After selling just 100 units of its product, electric car manufacturer Coda Holdings has filed for Chapter 11 in a Delaware bankruptcy court… Coda Automotive’s only vehicle was its Coda Car, an all-electric sedan with four doors and a battery pack. The company has its headquarters in Los Angeles. Coda Cars have an EPA-rated battery range of about 88 miles to a charge — less than electric vehicles made by competitor Tesla Motors.”

Progressives should invest all of their money in “green energy” companies, like the Obama Administration does with our tax money.The Nation (5/1/13) reports: “Now it turns out that some green groups are literally part owners of the industry causing the crisis they are purportedly trying to solve. And the money the green groups have to play with is serious. The Nature Conservancy, for instance, has $1.4 billion in publicly traded securities, and boasts that its piggybank is ‘among the 100 largest endowments in the country.’ The Wildlife Conservation Society has a $377 million endowment, while the endowment of the World Wildlife Fund-US (WWF-US) is worth $195 million.”

You might think we were a bunch of tech geeks if you could see our excitement for new toys that actually work. AP (5/3/13) reports: “Fossil fuels? They were going to be expensive and scarce, relics of an earlier, dirtier age… But in the race to conquer energy technology, Old Energy is winning… Oil companies big and small have used technology to find a bounty of oil and natural gas so large that worries about running out have melted away.”

Seriously, it has been a tough year for the bad guys. Real Science (5/5/13) reports: 2013 is having the coldest spring on record, the fewest tornadoes on record, and also the fewest forest fires on record.

If some is good, more is better. Chron (5/3/13) reports: “Earlier today, in response to Brooks’ post, former New York Times environmental report Andrew Revkin, who now can be found at Dot Earth, wondered whether scientists and reporters who jumped on the climate angle in 2011 would do so again now, tweeting:”

Filed Under: In the Pipeline Tagged With: Andrew Revkin, carbon dioxide emissions, carbon tax, climate change, Coda Automotive, fossil fuels, greenhouse gas emissions, oil, President Obama, Tesla, The wildlife conservation society

Ethanol Mandates Distort Corn Market

May 3, 2013 by AEA Leave a Comment

A recent Bloomberg article underscores the government distortions in the fuel and food sectors. The piece discusses the rising price of ethanol because of expected supply problems:

Ethanol’s discount to gasoline narrowed to a four-month low on speculation that the slowest pace of corn planting since 1986 will make it difficult to replenish supplies.

The price difference, or spread, shrank 3.75 cents to 21.9 cents a gallon. The Agriculture Department said in a report yesterday that 5 percent of the crop was planted as of April 28, compared with a five-year average of 31 percent. Ethanol stockpiles are at the lowest for this time of year in records dating to June 2010…

“With the strong corn market, and we don’t have a huge inventory of product anyway, it just freaks people out,” said Jim Damask, a manager at StarFuels Inc., a Jupiter, Florida- based brokerage.

Here, the article is somewhat misleading, since it doesn’t explain that ethanol’s “discount to gasoline” goes hand in hand with lower energy content (ethanol contains 1/3 less energy per gallon than gasoline). In other words, a gallon of ethanol is indeed cheaper than a gallon of conventional gasoline, but that doesn’t mean it’s a better buy for motorists—you still get more miles-per-dollar using gasoline than ethanol.

The article goes on to explain the woes of the refiners:

Ethanol-blended gasoline made up 93 percent of the total U.S. gasoline pool in the week ended April 19, the lowest level since March 29….Ethanol is mixed with the motor fuel to stretch supply and meet federal mandates.

The tightening spread may discourage refiners from blending beyond government obligations, Damask said.

“There’s money, but not as much,” he said. “When you factor in delivery, storage, rail, that starts to whittle that down more than we think.” [Bold added.]

Here too the article is somewhat misleading. It makes it sound as if the ethanol mixture in the nation’s gasoline stock is a market outcome, with profit-maximizing decisions leading refiners to meet and surpass the mandatory floors. (The Renewable Fuel Standard requires the use of 16.55 billion gallons of ethanol this year.) Yet a closer analysis shows that this isn’t right.

In the past, refiners received a 45-cent-per-gallon ethanol tax credit until the end of 2011. This gave a definite advantage to ethanol, making it appear more profitable (after-tax) to refiners than it really was. In conjunction with federal mandates for ethanol, these policies spurred the growth of ethanol refining capacity and retarded the growth in conventional refining capacity compared to what it otherwise would have been. Thus, the current market landscape is still carrying the distorted infrastructure from years of the explicit tax advantage given to ethanol.

In addition, there are still some policies in place giving federal tax advantages to corn ethanol refiners, with the hope of future support. Listen to how its advocates describe the situation:

The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, that was approved by both the Senate and House, included extension of three key ethanol related tax credits, Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, said.

…

“In addition, and equally significant, is the extension of the alternative fuel infrastructure tax credit which will accelerate E15’s entry into the marketplace this coming year. The extension of these important provisions demonstrates the Obama Administration’s stalwart support of biofuels and Congress’s belief in the promise of energy independence and job creation through domestic renewable energy resources,” claims Dinneen. [Bold added.]

Thus, even setting aside the explicit federal mandates, there are still tax advantages not only for cellulosic biofuel but also corn ethanol, and it would not be surprising if more explicit “stalwart support” from the federal government returned, once the dire fiscal situation has subsided.

Especially in a time of tight corn supplies, federal mandates on ethanol distort the fuel and food markets. The apparent “discount” on ethanol overlooks the fact that it has lower energy content by volume than conventional gasoline, and the existing market landscape for refiners has been distorted by years of massive government intervention. If ethanol is really such a wise and farsighted investment for America, we can rely on private capital markets to make these decisions, rather than supposed experts in Washington.

Filed Under: Facts, News, Products and Power, Renewable Fuel Standard, Threats Tagged With: corn, Department of Agriculture, ethanol, food prices, Gasoline, refineries, renewable fu, Renewable Fuel Standard, rfs, tax credit

In the Pipeline: 5/3/13

May 3, 2013 by AEA Leave a Comment

These are the people on the other side. Watts Up With That (5/2/13) reports: “From the Fahrenheit 451 department comes this indictment of California’s higher education’s “tolerance” for opposing views. When I first got the tip on this, I thought to myself “nobody can be this stupid to photograph themselves doing this” but, here they are, right from the San Jose State University Meteorology Department web page:”

So, if someone lies to you, and they know they lied, that would make them a . . . Washington Post (5/2/13) reports: “Readers should always be skeptical when political ads attach a particular meaning to a congressional vote. In this case, the Obama group has twisted the meaning of a relatively minor amendment — which was clearly intended to become fodder for future campaign ads… There’s little evidence that a vote against this amendment meant that a lawmaker was affirming that climate change was a “hoax.” There are clearly lawmakers who voted against the amendment who believe that human activity contributes in some way to climate change — and the underlying bill actually states that there is “established scientific concern” that climate change exists.”

We worry that the Republic is doomed when “profits” are confused with “legalized theft”. E&ENews (5/2/13) reports: “The nation’s largest biodiesel company posted its strongest first quarter ever on the heels of the retroactive reinstatement of a key tax credit and the incentives provided by the renewable fuel standard.”

Murkowski strikes again. Huffington Post (4/25/13) reports: “Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, the ranking Republican on the Senate energy committee, has acknowledged climate change is ‘real’ and ‘we need to fight it.’… Following her keynote speech at the Bloomberg New Energy conference in New York City, Murkowski discussed her views on climate change with Fortune’s Brian Dumaine. ‘It doesn’t make sense to argue about how much global warming is caused by man — whether it’s 5 percent or 50 percent. The best approach is to have a no-regrets policy,’ she said Tuesday.”

We’ll throw AEA’s hat in the ring for this horse at the Derby. Fuel Fix(4/26/13) reports: “‘Ken and I kind of consider this horse, named Frac Daddy with all the fracking going on, as a tribute to the oilfield workers of America,’ Stewart said told the paper… The men talk about their history with horse racing, energy and this horse in the story.”

The following think tank chiefs are opposed to a carbon tax. Please contact us at [email protected] if you wish to join our growing ranks.

Tom Pyle, American Energy Alliance / Institute for Energy Research
Myron Ebell, Freedom Action
Phil Kerpen, American Commitment
William O’Keefe, George C. Marshall Institute
Lawson Bader, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Andrew Quinlan, Center for Freedom and Prosperity
Tim Phillips, Americans for Prosperity
Joe Bast, Heartland Institute
David Ridenour, National Center for Public Policy Research
Michael Needham, Heritage Action for America
Tom Schatz, Citizens Against Government Waste
Grover Norquist, Americans for Tax Reform
Sabrina Schaeffer, Independent Women’s Forum
Barrett E. Kidner, Caesar Rodney Institute
George Landrith, Frontiers of Freedom
Thomas A. Schatz, Citizens Against Government Waste
Bill Wilson, Americans for Limited Government
Wayne Brough, FreedomWorks
Rich Collins, Positive Growth Alliance
Craig Richardson, American Tradition Institute

Filed Under: In the Pipeline Tagged With: biodiesel, carbon tax, climate change, frac daddy, fracking, Renewable Fuel Standard, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, tax credit

In the Pipeline: 5/1/13

May 1, 2013 by AEA Leave a Comment

Apparently Al Gore has forgotten about his own invention. Hollywood Reporter (4/30/13) reports: “Al Gore, one of Hollywood’s favorite sons because of his commitment to the environment, rocked a large crowd in Beverly Hills on Tuesday with an impassioned plea to solve the ‘climate change crisis,’ part of which is getting media right… Gore lamented that a modern-day Thomas Paine would not be able to get his ‘Common Sense’ message to the masses today because he couldn’t afford TV airtime, and he criticized the ‘rise of television at the expense of the printing press.’”

There is no honor among thieves. Politico (5/1/13) reports: “An effort by ethanol backers to get the Environmental Protection Agency to scale back the amount of advanced biofuels required in the U.S. gasoline supply this year has opened a rift in a decades-old friendship within the biofuels industry… The Renewable Fuels Association made the request to EPA in an attempt to limit imports of Brazilian-based sugar cane ethanol.”

Is it just me, or is Colorado starting to look like California? I wonder where its refugees will go. Denver Post (4/30/13) reports: “A Democratic bill doubling the renewable-energy standard for rural electric co-ops has turned into one of the more contentious measures of the 2013 session… Lawmakers say no other bill — even gun legislation — has been debated as long as Senate Bill 252, which increases the renewable-energy standard for the state’s second-largest utility and rural electric co-ops with more than 100,000 customers to 20 percent from 10 percent by 2020.”

It has been tough for these guys. The whole scarcity narrative has blown up. President Rig Count keeps talking about oil and gas production. Now they are going to lose Keystone. Politico (4/30/13) reports: “The Obama administration may be just months away from green-lighting the 1,700-mile oil pipeline despite an all-out opposition campaign that has seen anti-Keystone activists staging massive sit-ins and arrests outside the White House and dogging the president’s speeches and fundraisers with rallies.”

Do you think maybe the “lack of data” also had something to do with lack of production? Wind Power (4/30/13) reports: “The decision follows a warning in March by interim energy minister Asen Vasilev that around 40% of wind and solar plants could potentially be curtailed… Vasilev claimed their failure to provide real-time data on production was threatening the stability of the system and made them non-compliant with the law.”

It’s no fun if the guys who write rules play by the rules. Daily Caller(4/29/13) reports: “The Environmental Protection Agency’s revised draft assessment of an Alaska mine project cites research from environmental consultants who admitted falsifying a report in an environmental lawsuit.”

Team IER will be in Houston next week. They said we could invite you to their party.

Filed Under: In the Pipeline Tagged With: Al Gore, biofuels, climate change, colorado energy, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, ethanol, global warming, Keystone XL pipeline, President Obama, renewable energy standard, solar energy, wind energy

In the Pipeline: 4/30/13

April 30, 2013 by AEA Leave a Comment

Van Jones, previously Deputy Assistant to the President for Destroying Coal Miners’ Jobs, deflects responsibility by pretending to care about the very people whose lives he and his former boss have worked so diligently to destroy. Twitchy (4/29/13) reports: “Jones is in St. Louis today to show his solidarity with the United Mine Workers of America and protest the ‘corporate greed’ of ‘Big Coal’:”

Why just women? Maybe it would drive some of the House Democrats to transactional sex. And who says ‘transactional sex’ when they mean ‘prostitution’? The Hill (4/29/13) reports: “The resolution, from Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and a dozen other Democrats, says the results of climate change include drought and reduced agricultural output. It says these changes can be particularly harmful for women… ‘[F]ood insecure women with limited socioeconomic resources may be vulnerable to situations such as sex work, transactional sex, and early marriage that put them at risk for HIV, STIs, unplanned pregnancy, and poor reproductive health,’ it says.”

Maybe someone should give Rep. Barbara Lee the heads up. The Breakthrough (Winter 2013) reports: “Huge swaths of the world have been developing over the last three decades at an unprecedented pace and scale. That remarkable transformation has come not from the forced redistribution of global wealth or renewable energy but instead from the rapid growth of the global economy fueled by cheap fossil energy. China, India, and Brazil have become the manufacturers, farmers, and phone centers to the world, lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty in the process.”

As we have discussed before, the science is settled. So please ignore all facts that are contrary to the prevailing narrative. USA Today (4/29/13) reports: “Record cold and snow has been reported in dozens of cities, with the worst of the chill in the Rockies, upper Midwest and northern Plains. Several baseball games have been snowed out in both Denver and Minneapolis.”

Try saying ‘post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy’ ten times fast.Washington Examiner (4/29/13) reports: “No wonder Institute for Energy Research President Thomas J. Pyle contends that ‘Obama has kept keep billions of acres of federal lands and waters behind the most onerous regulatory blockade in American history. Yet that hasn’t stopped him for taking credit for the increases in production on private and state lands.’”

Let’s think about this for a moment. Why would EPA do something like this? Could it be because they are setting the table to slide natural gas in as a substitute for the cellulosic ethanol (that doesn’t exist) in the RFS, and they want to make sure that life cycle assessments can be offered with a straight face? Stay tuned. AP (4/28/13) reports: “The Environmental Protection Agency has dramatically lowered its estimate of how much of a potent heat-trapping gas leaks during natural gas production, in a shift with major implications for a debate that has divided environmentalists: Does the recent boom in fracking help or hurt the fight against climate change?”

This is kind of fun to watch. Although you have to wonder about a guy that announces they are going to drive support for one issue by focusing on another. And you have to wonder about people who take his money. You also have to wonder about the idiots who are upset with Zuckerberg but are still buying Facebook ads. Politico (4//13) reports: “Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg is taking fire from the left in his quest to reform the country’s immigration system… Progressives and environmental activists are fuming over recent television ads from the subsidiaries of Zuckerberg’s FWD.us umbrella group that tout lawmakers’ pro-Keystone XL pipeline and oil drilling positions.”

Filed Under: In the Pipeline Tagged With: Barbara Lee, climate change, coal, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, Federal lands, fossil fuels, Keystone XL pipeline, natural gas, oil, oil and gas production, President Obama, renewable energy, Van Jones

In the Pipeline: 4/29/13

April 29, 2013 by AEA Leave a Comment

Remember this? Well, the situation in Colorado is about to go from bad to worse. Fierce Energy (4//13) reports: “Colorado is closing in on new legislation that would more than double the renewable portfolio standard (RPS) for the state’s rural electric co-ops, setting a goal of 25 percent of generation by 2020.”

There are two important takeaways here: John Shively is far too nice for this job; and Mark Begich has just been introduced to the albatross that will be wrapping itself around his neck. Anchorage Daily News reports: “The Environmental Protection Agency says the proposed Pebble mine in Alaska could wipe out nearly 100 miles of streams and 4,800 acres of wetlands in one of the last places remaining in the world to support huge runs of wild salmon….The EPA asserts that it has the power under the federal Clean Water Act to shut down the possibility of the massive copper and gold mine.”

We’re pretty sure this is a legit story. It is… insane. DailyMail (3/8/13) reports: “The reason for this hugely costly decision is that Drax has become a key component in the so-called ‘green revolution’ which is now at the heart of the Government’s energy policy… Because it burns so much coal, Drax is the biggest single emitter in Britain of carbon dioxide (CO2), the gas supposedly responsible for global warming. The theory is that, by gradually switching to wood — or ‘biomass’ as it is officially known — Drax will eventually save millions of tons of CO2 from going every year into the atmosphere, thereby helping to prevent climate change and save the planet.”

I suppose we can thank Japan, too. At the very least, be thankful that there are still people out there who haven’t completely lost their minds. Sydney Morning Herald (4/26/13) reports: “The Japanese government is moving to speed up the environmental assessment process for new coal-fired power plants as its power sector struggles with a surging energy bill in the wake of the forced idling of much of the country’s nuclear power plants following the Fukushima power plant meltdown in 2011.”

So, after all that, it turns out that the science might not be settled. Which would certainly suggest that we might have been victims of a . . . what is the word when someone lies to you repeatedly about a specific thing? The Daily Caller reports: “Despite the heated rhetoric from the Obama administration and environmental groups about the urgency of global warming, climate scientists have begun to come to terms with the lack of evidence of catastrophic global warming over the last decade.”

The priesthood of limits, those who hate humans and want them to be fewer, poorer, and less free, have had a very bad time over the last several decades. Food. Energy. Innovation. Prosperity. Freedom. We are limited only by our imagination. And our willingness to ignore the elites. Washington Times (4/25/13) reports: “Malthusians can breathe a sigh of relief: If current trends hold, human beings won’t fulfill doomsday predictions by making like rabbits after all. Thanks to the success of incessant fear-mongering, the world’s population is expected to peak soon and then begin a long slide downward. That’s fewer of us “defacing” the planet.”

Filed Under: In the Pipeline Tagged With: biomass, carbon dioxide emissions, Clean Water Act, coal-fired power, Colorado electricity, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, Fukushima power plant, global warming, Japan, President Obama, Renewable Portfolio Standards